know what, here you go, i'm going help someone out with their christmas presents. how cool is that? >> bill: cool stuff. have great monday, if you're not shopping -- if you're not done shopping, good luck! >> martha: "happening now starts notice. -- starts notice. jon: we begin with the white house, keeping a close eye on the korean peninsula, this after the death of kim jong-il. good morning to you. i'm jon scott. jenna: big news day and unexpected at that, really. i'm jenna leer. we're here in the fox news room and as jon mentioned, kim jonil who put the nation on the nuclear map died at the age of 69, his death beginning a period of what some are calling uncertainty for that region of the world, south korea putting its military forces on high alert. jon i don't know that as the nation calls on the 24 million citizens, many of whom are starving to rally

behind the successor kim jong-un, a newly minted four star general believed to be 27 or 28 years old. as defense department officials confirm to fox, north korea fired two short missiles today. jenna: south korean sources say the launch was a test drill and may not be related to kim's death. in the meantime we have got to look the a the timing of this. doug mckelway, tell us what this means, when we talk about stability in the region, specifically for the korean peninsula, what specifically are the folks at state department talking about? >> we're not hearing anything officially, hilly clinton moments ago spoke to an unrelated issue regarding land mine safety, and we expect her to address the north korean situation but she declined to at that point. i chased her down the hallway after sher remarks, asked her what she thought and she said we'll have something to say on that a bit later, thank you. no one can say for sure what this represent necessary detail, the speculation

ranges from the prospects of new stability to the prospects for greater instability, based upon kim jong il's desire to prove himself as a leader in the face of out-- outside threats from the united states and also internal threats from generals who have been in place much longer than he has. we spoke to u.n. ambassador john bothon moments ago on fox news, he said that this represents a time for vigilance on the part of the united states, but also, for tempered hope. here's his remarks: >> while this is a period of enormous risk for the peninsula and for the united states, china and others, it's also has the potential opportunity, looking at the -- what our long sought goal has been of the reunification of the korean pen lanes. that's what we need to keep in mind here. that's the strategic opportunity that may be presenting itself. >> reporter: keep in mind, the new presumed leader, kim

jong-un is no stranger to the west, he was schooled in switzerland, lived life at that private swiss school under a pseudonym so no one knew he was the son of the dear leader of north korea. he did apparently confide in a couple of close friends there. his placement in a swiss school chosen because that country has maintained neutrality in the north south korean conflict throughout the decades. jenna: interesting. we saw that limited video we have of him and we're going to be see thank throughout the day. again, we have such little footage of him, as well as photographs. doug, let's turn now to those missiles. we now know apparently there could be two that were fired in north korea today. what do we know about that? >> reporter: what we know is these were conventional missile, they were short range ballistic missile, the kinds of missiles that western observers have seen many times in the past, they apparently landed into the sea after they were firing them. the missile that you're looking at here is a longer range ballistic missile of a more threatening variety.

but the speculation is the launches were probably preplanned, the actual launch date may have been moved up, perhaps as a show of stability in the face of this new leadership. but is not seen as a tremendously destabilizing, or as any kind of a threat jenna. jenna: a good reminder for us today, doug, as we continue to work through these headlines. doug mckelway at the state department, thank you very much. jon: for more on this, let's bring in senator mark kirk who visited north korea as a congressional staffer with the white house international relations committee. you were there to help supervise u.n. food delivery ies, essentially, correct senator? what did you see? >> i saw one of the poorest countries on earth, far poorer than many subsaharan african countries and a country where power is largely concentrated on the capitol city of pyongyang and not well exercised far from the center of political life there.

jon: kim jong-il has atphaoeupt dollars kim jong-un apparently to become the new leader of that country, this guy is 27 or 28 years old, he's been appointed a four star general in the military, but as far as we know, has no military experience. right? >> that's right. he apparently was born in 1984 or '83, so that makes him 29, 30 years old, he has no military experience, and the key issue tonight is can he get the loyalty of key north korean army corps commanders. if he does not, we have a very unstable situation, and in many ways to, win power in north korea, is to demonstrate some adventure on the military side against south korea. that's why south korea forces are on alert today, and the united states should back up our south korean allies saying no military move should be made regardless of the succession crisis in pyongyang. jon: i know that just nobody in washington has a great

deal of information about this country or its leadership. you might be one of the better informed, just by virtue of the fact that you've actually visited there. are other senators knocking on your doors and asking you for information about this place? >> well, the senate is currently in recess, but i would say that power is more fragmented than you would think in north korea, that apparently kim jong-un's uncle will be serving as somewhat of a regent here, and we will see a succession crisis playing out over the coming week, see tp-g he can truly gain loyalty from the north korean army or if somehow the generals don't want to see this 30-year-old with no military experience taking power, and then we would see quite a bit of instability inside the north korean army. jon: talking about succession and changes in power, we are getting ready to elect or reelect a person in this country. you have cast your lot with

mitt romney. a lot of people were surprised by that. tell us why. >> i think because he's a competent manager, because his expertise is in economics, because he was a republican conservative governor of a very democratic state and able to work across the lines. i think he is the -- he has the best chance to win the presidency, and i think we need a new leader. while barack obama inherited a terrible situation, i think it's clear he made it worse, and bringing things back to the center right i think would really help this economy. jon: a lot of people were surprised you were elected with tea party support, some thought you might go for a rick perry or michele bachmann but it's mitt romney. >> that's right. and i think, also, the state of illinois may have a big role to play. we had an online poll, mitt romney won the in person sroegt, ron paul won the online voting. we expect now that the republican nomination may be fought out through april.

that means that the illinois primary, march 20th, may make a big difference for the candidate in question. jon: that means about five more months of calling you in to talk to us about a little bit of politics, senator. i hope you'll answer the call! >> i'm one of those people, also, that thinks that tough primaries make good general election candidacies. i don't really agree with clearing the field. i think if the republican primary is a long wage battle between speaker gingrich and mitt romney it actually means the republican candidate will be stronger because the country will talk about republican issues, especially fiscal conservatism, for many or months than would otherwise happen. jon: senator mark kirk who surprised many people by winning the illinois senate seat as a republican, senator, thank you. >> thank you, thanks for having me. jenna: nice to hear from senator kirk. it will be good to see how the foreign policy things begin to occur. in the meantime we're going to turn closer to home and talk about something that affects every american who gets a paycheck, house

republicans are blast ago bill approved by the senate to extend a payroll tax cut for two months. now gearing up for a final showdown before the cuts expire at the end of the year. two months versus a full year extension of these payroll tax cuts. our mike emanuel is following this live from capitol hill. it was a long weekend of work for mike. you haven't gotten a break. here's a story that takes a twist. tell us what speaker boehner said a short time ago and what his message is overall on what to do about this payroll holiday issue. >> reporter: jenna, he reiterated the house favors a full one-year extension over the two-month deal. house republicans believe that that two-month extension of the payroll tax holiday is a bad deal and they believe it creates uncertainty for job creators. here's house speaker john boehner making his case. >> we've made it perfectly clear that we believe that a full year extension of these tax cuts are very important. i don't believe the differences between the house and senate are that great.

it's time for us to do our work. >> reporter: so house members are on their way from their district back to washington. we expect this evening they will vote down the package that passed the senate on saturday, then boehner is hoping that essentially both the house and senate will go to a conference to hammer out the differences, jenna. jenna: how big of a hope is that, mike? i was trying to follow some of your e-mails. is the senate even there, is the senate back at all to even deal with anything that the house has to offer? >> they got out of dodge quickly on saturday, once the final votes were cast on saturday. they thought that was the end of the year, and we saw senators make a dash for the airport, saw senator kirk moments ago back in chicago. so it is really unclear how senate majority leader harry reid will play it. we know he's unhappy with what the house is doing, thinking that essentially the deal was done, that they would get back and negotiate a new package after february, but senate majority leader harry reid said this, quote, if speaker boehner refuses to vote on

the bipartisan compromise that passed the senate with 89 votes, republicans will be forcing a thousand dollars tax increase on middle class families on january 1st. he emphasizes 89 votes out of 100. so there are clearly a lot of republicans supporting. but the question is, did the republicans support it because they didn't want taxes to go up january 1st, or did they support it because they thought a two-month deal avs good deal, jenna. jenna: exciting right down to the wire as we get into the holidays. mike emanuel, thank you very much. we'll continue to watch it. jon: we'll be here. jenna: and mike will be there, pat, trish, the producers as well. jon skwraopbd the house is there, just not the senate. jenna: we'll see what happens. a lot of twists and turns to the story. we'll keep you posted to see how they figure it out. jon: also big moves in the polls to tell you about, two weeks before the critical iowa caucuses as mitt romney picks up an endorsement from an influential iowa newspaper. we'll tell you about that --

where thatracy stands now. jenna: check this out, it's a runaway cart and takes down those people. they did not expect that, obviously. how does something like this happen? we're going to show you more of this incredible video coming up. jon: talk about another potential danger, this time from mother nature, winter storms are raking the southwest and headed toward the plains. who is getting hit and who is next in line? that's coming up. >> ♪ >> ♪ >> ♪ jingle bells. >> ♪ >> ♪ jingle all the way. >> ♪ >> ♪

jenna: welcome back, everyone, on this christmas week. we are america's election headquarters and just over two weeks from now voteners iowa hold their caucus, mitt romney getting a big endorsement from the state's largest newspaper, the demoines register saying the former massachusetts governor has the economic know-how and wisdom to guide the nation. the newspaper not so kind to his rival newt gingrich, saying this, quote, newt gingrich is an undisciplined partisan who would alienate not unite if he reverts to mean spirited attacks on display as house speaker. the former house speaker, newt gingrich, dismiss that is endorsement saying it shows he's a true conservative. in the meantime there is surprising new polling by the democratic leaning public policy polling

company, it adds ron paul -- it's ron paul, right jon? >> jon: pole or paul. >> it has ron paul as the frontrunner with newt gingrich losing ground. a.b. stoddard, tell us about the ron paul factor, what do you make of it? >> it's not surprising. he's been surging in iowa, and several weeks ago, actually, just as newt gingrich is beginning to capture the momentum and take the lead the governor in iowa, governor brand remarked that the ron paul organization was second to none, he's been working on the ground for years, he's been there before in cycles past, he knows how to get the vote out and did very well in the straw poll, only missed beating michele bachmann by 152 votes, to newt gingrich and mitt romney have known all along that ron paul was going to show very well in iowa. at this point if newt gingrich continues to slip in the polls it's likely ron

paul will win. jenna: you say iowa matters no gingrich but not for romney. why not? >> well because romney always knew that it wasn't going to be his -- a place of strength for him, it was not going to be stronghold. he did not even really participate in the straw poll in august. he has been sort of secretly campaigning there, but not making a real show, until newt gingrich took off. newt gingrich wants to really consolidate the antiromney vote in iowa. this is why he has to capture votes. away from ron paul. away from michele bachmann. away from rick santorum, two other candidates that are working very hard on the ground there and want to make a good showing in iowa. newt gingrich needs to have a good showing. he might lose to ron paul which he would write off, if he came in second, he would say i'm the frontrunner, ron paul was always going to win iowa. if it's a split and a muddled result and gingrich doesn't do well and if romney captures momentum and does second to ron paul or beats out gingrich, it's

hard for newt gingrich to head into new hampshire with a head of steam. jenna: i was taking a look at the real clear politics average, taking a look at the polls averaging out there and this is the order they have the candidates, gingrich, paul, romney in the top three, separatedby very little in iowa, followed by michele bachmann and rick perry. if you take a look at 2007 going into the 2008 campaign, here's a list of candidates in the order of the most successful to the one trailing, huckabee, romney, thompson, giuliani, and mccain was a fifth. this is, of course, mccain ended up to be the nominee. taking a look at the past, how does that tell us how we should take the iowa poll? >> the thing about iowa is that that doesn't make a nominee. it gives you momentum if you're someone like barack obama who was underestimated and you need to get going and want to be a serious contender for the nomination. if ron paul wins iowa it will be written off. he is not considered a contender for the nomination. mike huckabee was supposed to continue doing well and he didn't. he was not a contender for

the nomination. it doesn't make a nominee. mitt romney can write it off and hope to do well in new hampshire, nevada, south carolina, florida. mccain didn't really contest, as you remember, in iowa, he wasn't even there that night when the results came in, he was in new hampshire, trying to contest where there, where he waopb and his campaign took off. it's not necessary to win iowa to become the nominee but for newt gingrich who's a late bloomer he really needs to get in there, consolidate that antiromney vote and show the establishment i'm trouble, i'm going to knock mitt romney off, i'm going to be the nominee and you come and join me now and don't write me off. if he slips in the polls anymore and doesn't make a showing in iowa and romney does even better than expected, it's a problem for newt gingrich. jenna: important points to keep in mind, a.b., thank you very much, always nice to see you. >> thank you. jon: the fascinating process to watch. right now, seven people are recovering after being plowed down by an out of control electric cart. it happened in dallas on the football field at the new cowboys stadium.

patti ann brown has the story. >> reporter: that's right, jon, it was a high school football game in arlington, the game ended and folks were scattered on the field when sud beenly an electric cart with no one in it raced from the end zone right toward the middle of the field t. topple dollars a coach and knocked others to the ground, appearing to roll over some victims' legs. seven people were treated for injuries, one with leg abrasions was taken to a nearby hospital for a precautionary exam, one man was seen lying motionless with someone cradling his head but a fire official says all of the injuries turned out to be minor, thank goodness. still it was quite a scary scene and all caught on tape as you can see, footage showing the winning coach falling backwards into the cart's passenger seat as it continued rolling. he tries to get control of the cart, but eventually rolls out on to the artificial turf. as he tumbles out, a pursuing field worker got on board and was able to stop that cart. the cart is used to transport equipment and

injured players. there is no word yet on why it went out of control. jon: boy, that is just scary to watch, that could have been so much worse than it was. >> absolutely. jon: patti ann, thank you. >> thank you. jenna: we're going to talk more about what's happening in north korea. we're also watching new signs that the united states and iran are already engaged in a covert war. the evidence one security expert calls too significant to ignore. that's coming up. also, just a torbl tragedy in the philippines, funeral parlors there are literally overwhelmed by the loss of life caused by the massive flooding you're seeing on your screen. what the government may now have to do with hundreds of remains. their omises once a year. but we believe in helping people take steps to keep them every single day. that's why every day we help people across the country get into their first homes. prepare for a comfortable retirement and protect the people and things that matter most.

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jon: this is our fox news channel acquisition center where we tpwhreupbg

satellite feedsna all over the country, all over the worldle take a look at capitol hill, remote 278, nothing! that's the capitol building, the russell rotunda, nobody moving. the house is in session but the senate has gone home. will they come up with an answer on the payroll tax? we'll see. keep you updated on that. remote 294, we are watching big storm that's coming in to hit the southwestern united states, arizona, parts of colorado, texas, and then on into the midwest with a lot of rain. over on remote 295, maria molina is going to tell us what this storm is going to do, because i sure can't. maria. >> reporter: good morning, jon, good morning, everyone. unfortunately this storm system is really going to start to strength then afternoon and into tonight and tuesday morning and start to produce blizzard-like conditions across parts of the plains, with a whole lot of snow, up to a foot and a half is possible. right now the stormst already bring thank snow across portions of colorado and also new mexico, where

that cold air is in place, but ahead of it, it's not having snow. tennessee, beneficial rain, parts of oklahoma getting in on that action. that's not going to be enough to put us out of a drought that's been ongoing across those areas for a year now but we'll take the rain where we can get it, of course. here's a closer look at that snow across new mexico, albuquerque, santa may -- santa fe. the heaviest accumulations will be to the east as it strengthens, northern new mexico, southwestern parts of kansas, those impressive accumulations, we're expecting up to a foot or foot and a half expected, wind guff the of up to 45-50 miles per hour. that's going to be producing near zero visibility, with blizzard-like conditions, also significant blowing and different drifting. we could see snow drifts of 2-3 tpaoefplt that's another additional problem that we're looking at aside from all of that snow. of course it's going to be cold, it's going to be windy so wind chill values will be

on the dan iraq side. timing on the storm is on noon monday, snow across parts of new mexico, seen colorado and then a lot of that rain is going to switch over to snow across portions of the texas panhandle, oklahoma panhandle, western portions of kansas, so that's where you're going to be looking at some of the worst conditions. then by noon tuesday, no word -- winding down across the plains, ahead of it, a lot of rain expected across portions of texas. that will continue to push eastward, by noon wednesday, we're going to see rain across parts of the northeast and the southeast, and another issue, jon, is severe weather that's possible across eastern texas, large hail, damaging wind gusts and isolated tornadoes possible. jon: so a big part of the country is going to see potentially a wet christmas, not a white christmas. >> exactly. jon: maria molina in the fox weather center, thank you. jenna: overseas now, 700 people are dead in the philippines because of massive flooding there, the staggering death toll continues to rise. this is three days after

massive flood waters ravaged the entire region. funeral parlors are overwhelmed today. claudia cowen is following the story from our west coast bureau. >> reporter: jen kwrarbgs this typhoon slammed into the middle east without warning at night and high tide, dump ago full month's worth of rain in just 12 hours. flash floods washed away entire villages and drowned more than 600 people. most of them had been asleep when the late-season storm hit and scores of victims were swept out to sea. some of the worst hit areas are remote and officials are having a hard time pinning down the number of those missing. eighty-two is the figure coming from officials, while the red cross estimates as many as 900 people are unaccounted for. the government worries many flood victims could be buried in mud and debris with funeral homes overwhelmed. one city made plans for several mass burials today. >> we have decided after aur consultation with our city health officer that we should start digging graves

for the bodies and bury them temporarily because they are already in the advanced state of decomposition, people nearby might get sick if we do not bury the bodies. >> in other cities, people were resisting those mass burials, wanting the bodies to be held until relatives could claim them. jenna, most of the victims are reportedly will and children, along with burying the dead, running water and hygiene are major concerns, as well as getting clothing and blankets for young children. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton is offering assistance and the united nations is also planning to ask for help from foreign governments and other donors. back to you. jenna: claude kwrarbgs thank you. the story we will continue to watch. sad there, unbe able. jon: can you imagine the controversy over whether to bury those unclaimed bodies or not. the u.s. senate is plan to go reach into your pocket to fund the extension of the payroll tax cut. what every potential home buyer needs to know. also, north korea,

mourning its long time leader kim jong-il. his son is set to replace him. but the question that we're asking, will this nuclear-armed nation be more or less dangerous now? and international security expert joins us to weigh in. we, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. 8% every 10 years.age 40, fwe can start losing muscle -- wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor?

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jen a fox news alert, the u.s. government confirming reports north korea test fired two short range ballisticmisms today and it's ratcheting up the continuation on the korean pen lanes this after north koreano korea's leader kim jong-il died. there are reports the missile test and his death are unrelated. the man on your screen is the annointed successor of kim jong-il, it's worth mentioning north korea has nuclear weapons, and an army nearly a million strong. keep this in mind, we have 30,000 troops on the border of north korea and south cree kwrafplt they've thr-pb no years. jim walsh at mit joins us

now. one of the questions we're asking, is north korea more dangerous today than it was last week when kim jong-il was in power. >> jenna, i think the answer is yes. jenna: i think he was going to say -- well? >> jon: we hope the north koreans weren't in charge of the satellite. jenna: i think he did say yes but i don't want to put words in jim's mouth. sy a security expert, he's been to north korea which obviously many of us haven't, it's a closed country. he's also been to iran. one of the things we want for talk about jim when we get him back and we're working to do that is the axis of evil question, who is more dangerous now. jon oni'm told he's good. jenna: i believe he's back. jim, if you're with us, jon pointed out it might be the north koreans messing with our signal, and hopefully that's not the case. sometimes you get these technical gremlins. but you were about to answer the question of whether or not north korea is more dangerous and you say. >> yes, you were correct, jen kwrarbgs that was my

best guess, that -- and here's why. you know, kim jong-ilo jong-il for all his faults and problems, he was a tyrannical leader, oppressed his own leader, but he was in charge and could control what happened. if he gave an order, it was carried out. now the person in charge is gone and they're in a leadership transition. yes, there's been a successor appointed but he's young and inexperienced, he has won who cents been appointed to help him, kim jong-il's brother-in-law, what's that relationship going to be like, what's the military going to do, and normally when countries lose a leader, when a leader suddenly die, they become defensive and they want to sort of pump themselves up, out, rand show strength so that their enemies don't take advantage of them. that's a recipe for accidents, miscalculation, unintended war, unintended consequences. so i think today is a more dangerous day than yesterday. jenna: it seems like we are saying the deafit we know is better than the devil we don't as far as this

country. the threat they pose, jim, can you give us an idea of how our national security could be affected by north korea? >> i think at the end of the day north korea why -- korea is a weaker country than south korea, let alone the united states. if you look at its economy, its military, weaponry, it's a poor, poor country. but the problem is, even if it fights a war and loses, those u.s. servicemen and women that you referred to on the peninsula, they're put at risk, south korea is put at risk, there's a regional economy, they're on the border of china, is put at risk. no one wants to fight a korean war 2. o. that's the thing, even if they lose the cost to fight that would be enormous and something to avoid. jenna: we mentioned the start of our show, jim and i were talking about this was not expected at the beginning of this week and it can really formulate our foreign policy when we look ahead to the new year. you and i have talked about the axis of evil before, iran, iraq, north korea, that was the axis of evil.

we talk about iran and obviously north korea is back in the conversation. right now, as of today, which country in your mind deserves the most attention as we go ahead into the new year, iran or north korea. >> i'm glad you asked this, jen kwrafplt you're absolutely right, the campaign and policy talk in washington has been iran, iran, iran. but if you ask me, there's no contest here about which is the more dangerous situation. and that was before today's events. why do i say that? north korea has nuclear weapons. iran does not have nuclear weapons. may never get them. and in any case, isn't going to get them any time soon. north korea is in a state, technically a state of war with south korea. you know, they have an armistice, not a peace agreement on that peninsula, and iran is not in active war with anyone in the middle east anymore. their tension is obviously with israel. i think it's a much more dangerous situation. add on to that the fact that we have the u.s. troops there and the fact that northiea --ie has lost its leader and has to

consolidate a new situation under an inexperienced leader. i think we should have been talking about north korea more than we have and we certainly should be talking more about it going forward. jenna: the next few hours will be important, the next few days, the next few weeks. how should they approach this new leader and this country now? >> the first thing we want to do is position do no harm. we don't want to make a mistake, we don't want to have an unexpected event that you just referred to drive this process and lead to a war that actually no country in the region wants to fight. the north koreans don't want to fight it, we don't want to fight it, the south koreans don't want to fight it. i say let's take a step barks give them a little room. they're going to be a little paranoid, defensive. let's make clear we have no intention of trying to meddle in their internal affairs, let mem get through this transition, let them do what they need to do but let's not engage in sort of risky behavior that could lead to an accident or miscalculation and set off snag no one wants to

witness. yuen jen thank you for hanging with us through the technical difficulties. we look forward to having you back and talking to you, sir, thank you very much. >> thank you jenna. jon: talk about borrowing from yourself, there's word now that congress may be planning to cover the $33 billion needed to fund the payroll tax extension by increasing your mortgage payment? that's if the senate bill becomes law. elizabeth mcdonald is following this live from our new york newsroom. elizabeth, explain that. >> >> reporter: jon, what's going on is congress is now turning to fees fannie mae and freddie mac charge banks to cover the loans that they then sell to borrowers. what's going to happen is beginning january 1st, if a borrower walks in and tries to get a new mortgage or tries to refinance a mortgage, they're going to see their payments rise. in other words, if you get a $200,000 new loan, the new cost could add $204 a year to that loan, and there's a lot of controversy about this backlash coming from the housing industry.

they're saying that these fees are meant to basically stabilize the housing finance industry, stabilize fannie mae, freddie mac, and fannie mae and freddie mac should not be used as a so called slush fund to fund whatever congress wants to fund in the way of tax cuts. back to you jon. jon: interesting, too, that apparently homeowners would be paying that, and the money would be going to every social security reipent in the end. -- recipient in the end. >> thanks jon. jenna: overseas, escalating violence, in tahrir square. we have a live report from that part of the world in a moment. >> plus, a baseball star arrested after crashing his fancy sports car. ure going to hear the disturbing 911 call, the caller telling police about this crash and a whole lot more. >> one of the parties who looks like he's possibly the one causing all of this supposedly was passed out behind the wheel, so i don't know if it's -- it sounds more like an alcohol issue.

but apparently he came -- he woke up and then tried to flee the scene and crashed into another vehicle. he's in a silver maserati, so it won't be too hard to miss that car.

jon: there's new fallout for l.a. dodgers was first baseman james loney, we are hearing what tmz got its hands on, a 911 call placed after loney passed his car into a bunch of things, this caller tried to get out of dodge after the smashup. >> it happened a month ago but the details are just now coming to light. tmz has obtained the 911 call placed moments after the baseball star crashed into several other cars. james loney, first baseman for the l.a. dodgers, was driving his maserati in sherman oaks on november 14th, shortly after 6:00 p.m. during the rush,

he sideswiped three cars on the 101 freeway and allegedly came to a stop in the fast lane where the drivers of the car he hit approached him and they say he appeared to be passed out >> we need you for a traffic collision. westbound 101. >> do you know how many cars are involved in the accident? >> possibly up to seven. >> okay. anybody pin-trapped. >> no, one of the parties who looks like he's possibly the one who is causing all this supposedly was passed out behind the wheel, so i don't know if it's, uh, it sounds more like an alcohol issue, uh, but apparently, he came -- he woke wo*bg up and tried to flee the scene and crashed into another vehicle on the right shoulder. >> okay. >> he's in a silver maserati, so it won't be too hard to miss that car. >> reporter: as you heard in the call there, loney awakened and allegedly saw the crowd surrounding him and tried to flee but ended up crashing again.

he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. he refused a breathalyzer, in fact, according to tmz, he actually bit off the mouth piece and spit it at the cops. police did get a blood sample to test for drugs and alcohol. those test result, not officially available, although there are reports that the drug tests came back negative. the the city attorney's office is contemplating criminal charges, but the dodgers' general manager ned coletti says the dodgers are looking into the matter but he does not expect it to affect loyen's position on the team. jon: another professional athlete, another great role model. patti ann brown, thank you. jenna: our next story is in tune with the season of giving. jon: good! jenna: so close to christmas, less than a week away, and it's happening in several areas of the country and hopefully this trend will continue. it's a good one. secret santas, paying off layaway accounts in danger of default, especially ones that involve kids' clothing and toys and things like that. in lexingtonton, kentucky,

one shopper couldn't believe it happened to her. take a listen: >> you know i'm having a hard time, and they said no. >> i said don't be lie to go me now. >> found out there was a christmas angel out there. that's giving to a lot of people. >> a great, wonderful feeling deep inside. because i love my kids, and my grandkids, and just no one -- just knowing that now i'm able to give them this is a great gift. jenna: was that you? >> jon: i would love to claim credit but it wasn't me. jenna: i wonder how they do that. we might have to place a call and see how they do that, is it a secret santa that puts it to whatever account? because you think it would be confidential. jon: apparently when they often do is pay them down to almost nothing, because once you pay them down then the toys have to go out the door so they pay them down to a couple of bucks and let the account holder make the

final purchase. jenna: keep it going, secret santas, and if you want to give us a shoutout, you can, right? we'll talk to secret santa. we need a secret santa in the mix of all this other news. jon: a little holiday cheer is a good thing. egypt's military battles in the streets of cairo, ten people are dead, hundreds more wounded in the very disturbing clashes. we're live in the middle east. also, the violence in egypt delays important research on the great pyramid of esa, scientists think they may be close to unraveling one of the world's most intriguing mysteries, what lies behind mysterious tunnels blocked by doors. is there a secret treasure? next. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement

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jenna: right now the death toll is rising in egypt. at least three people killed in central cairo during dawn clashes between security force and protestors. on day four of this brutal crackdown that's happening between crowds and the military, the crowds are calling for immediate end to military rule. leland vitter is live in jerusalem with more. >> reporter: jen kwrarbg the only way to describe the video that is coming out of cairo is totally sickening. the death toll is now 14 people, and the clashes are reminiscent of what we saw during the u.s. civil rights movement, savage beatings, we've seen a number of times where army soldiers will hold down a victim and fifth person will stomp on their head. there have been hundreds if not thousands of injuries because of how these beatings have happened. the only thing, perhaps, that would make it worst is if the soldiers were opening fire on the protestors, and we heard they are doing just that. of all things, the protestors stormed the government building. they wanted the government to switch from the military rule to civilian rule as the

military rule had promised and the military did not take kindly to that. the u.s. secretary of state is weighing n. telling the egyptian military to stop this kind of violence, though overnight it didn't seem to make a whole lot of difference. there were massive fires set all throughout cairo. in fact this is now day four of the clashes. we tend to have this four days on, four weeks off, when the violence comes into cairo. i can tell you from having been in downtown cairo, the things there are very close together, an while the protestors have tried to storm and set fire to a number of government buildings they've also destroyed priceless arfacts there, inside egypt, the cairo research institute, burned down in the past couple of days and destroyed a lot of priceless artifacts and a lot of egyptian history that histor cans -- historians count on, and it hurts the egyptian tourism industry which is the lifeblood of that country. jenna: it would be remarkable to know the unrest in that country is

happening for more than a year and you set us up for the next segment, talking about what's happening to the artifacts there. jon: our next guest, very disturbed to see that video. he recognizes that place, the unrest in egypt, after january's overthrow of hosni mubarek to the protests still going on today, setting back projects to explore the ancient ruins. there is a new effort to reveal the mysteries that are still contained inside the great pyramid. joining us, dr. bob briar, author of "secret of the great pyramid", an egypttologist at c. w. post college. that building burning is what you know now. >> it's the french archeological institute. it's a terrible thing. there are fabulous documents there, napollon's letters when he was in egypt. it's priceless. jon apparently all gone. >> a lot of it. it looked really bad. jon: up just in egypt a while ago. >> a couple of weeks ago. jon: trying to do exploration necessary this kind of environment. how dangerous is that? >> tell you truth, it's not that dangerous. jon: when museums are doing?

>> it's all in that one area we see on television. that's the area where it's concentrated. you go in another part of egypt and you don't know things are happening. jon: so the trouble is there in cairo. >> wes. >> you the great pyramid sits outside of cairo. >> right. >> that is holding one of the tantalizing mysteries that you and some other scientists think you may be able to get an answer to? >> i think the team that's working on it will get an answer in the next year. as soon as things call down they'll go in with the robotic camera as and figure out what the mysterious shaft is for. jon: you see it represented graphically in these pictures on the screen now. there are a couple of 8-inch shafts that go, what, hundreds of feet in,. >> a couple hundred feet, 225 feet, 230 feet. jon: what's the a the end of those shaft? >> that's the big question. some people think maybe treasure, maybe it's a secret room where the pharaoh was buried treasure, something like that, others think it's a religious

thing, it's for the faro's soul to go up to the shaft and out to the stars. jon: you can't send a person in there, it's too small. so it will be done with robots. >> right. jon: at the end are door? >> that's the mysterious thing, the doors and they drilled a hole through one of them and put a camera through and there seems to be handle the on the other side, but then there's another door. they're not there yet. they're about to get through. i think they will. jon: the hyrogliphics. >> they look like the pyramids left calculations, maybe two on -- maybe 200 years. jon: kilroy was here. it's fascinating stuff. dr. briar, when we get a view inside those rooms, hope to have you back. jenna: north korea's future is uncertain now following the death of kim jong-il, what has changed in power in the nuclear -- and this nuclear armed nation could mean for us, just ahead. my name is jill strange,

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jenna: hello, everybody, great to have you with us on this monday, i'm jenna lee. one of the big stories today is the reported instability and uncertainty on the korean peninsula this is from the outside looking in which is the only way to look at this story, really. jon: nobody knows what that country is going to do. i'm jon scott. south korea is on high alert after north korea shoots off missiles shortly after the death of kim jong-il. north korea urging everyone to rally around ill's third son kim jong un. an untested leader about whom we know very little who heads a nation armed with nuclear weapons in one of the world's hot spots.

jennifer griffin is live with more. >> reporter: we've just learned the type of short-range ballistic missile that the north koreans have filed bin the last 24 hours. a senior u.s. defense official tells fox that they were two missiles, they were the rugs equivalent of ss-21 missiles which are normally fired from the back of vehicles, the back of trucks. they have a range of 75 miles or 120 kalam ma teres. we are told that the missiles were fired into the sea, they landed into the sea. and u.s. defense officials say they did not pose any threat or destabilize the peninsula they said the tests were preplanned and should be viewed in that light. south korea's military has gone into high alert, making military preparations on the same island that north korea shelled last year. u.s. forces on the peninsula have not changed their posture or alert status. the u.s. has 28,500 u.s. troops in south korea, many of them

along the dmz or border. the north korean military is one of largest standing armies in the world. 1.2million soldiers, twice the south of south korea's army. us officials say they have seen no signs of any activity at north korea's nuclear sites, and these missile tests are not being viewed as anything threatening or destabilizing the situation. jon: i'm sure a lot of people where you are in the pentagon are keeping a close eye on it. jenna: bret baier have we heard anything on the north korean issue. >> we'll have a briefing in about an hour and a half for jay karen aoefplt this i carney.

this is a pre wear just time for this administration as we watch north korea and when a 27-year-old takes control of this country, kim jong un which is kim jong-il's song there is a sense, you don't know whether he has managed to at this point formed the alliances within the leadership in north korea to really effectively take control, and whether he may make some provocative acts. jennifer mentioned the short-range missile firings, which aren't a big deal in the big picture. you remember taking down of the ship off the coast of north korea, the south korean ship and also firing long-range missiles possibly as far as a test goes. those are things that a provocation, they may be wanting to do some show strength or to

show that he's in control. jenna: as we've been mentioning this is an important story to watch as we watch the next several hours and days to see what emerges from what will be a new regime in that nation. i wonder what kind of opportunity this may present to someone like jon huntsman who has a great deal of experience in the region. of course he's potentially the republican presidential candidate, he's trying to be. do you think that provides any sort of opening for someone like jon huntsman now as he goes into 2012? >> reporter: i just think that it's a long stretch because of where jon huntsman is in the pecking order as it stands now. his whole game is in new hampshire, and how north korea plays in new hampshire is yet to be seen. jenna: who do you think will be the strongest when we lock at foreign policy? suddenly here we are talking about taxes and the economy and something happens out of the blue out of north korea and foreign policy becomes a proeu earth again.

priority again. i wonder out of the candidates out there who really shows the best rest na resume in foreign policy. >> reporter: clearly on this issue jon huntsman is well positioned because of his time in the region and his resume. mitt romney and newt gingrich have both talked foreign policy extensively. others on that stage have expressed different viewpoints about foreign policy. governor perry just put out a statement about the death of kim jong-il, and each candidate could make their case on a foreign policy stage. i do agree with you that it does put a different element into the presidential election. the administration, the obama administration is calculating that the president is better positioned arguably on foreign policy than he is on the economy. jenna: it's interesting to look at this time last year, we were talking about tax cuts, a different type.

we had no really anything on the horizon as far as nothing about the arab spring or nothing about the killing of osama bin laden and we see those becoming one of the main stories of this passing year. just really quickly here as we take a look at what is happening in the building behind you, what is going on between the house and the senate, and these tax cuts, and we thought there was agreement, and now apparently there is not. what is the latest as of 12 noon on a monday. >> senates passes this two month extension of the payroll tax cut and the house is saying, you know what that doesn't work for us. speaker boehner calls it nonsense, says that that is going to get voted down tonight in the house. so now, the standoff really begins in earnest, and the house will try to pass a one year extension of the payroll tax cut. it will have the keystone provision, which is, again, this pipeline, as we've talked about many times, that republicans really feel will create a lot of jobs. democrats on the senate side have said, listen, this whole thing is not working, we passed

you something that is a patch, that gets us to february, and republicans signed on in the senate. we now have this battle. they are going to try to push it -- the republicans are, to a conference committee and they can workout the differences. as of right now it's a total standoff, and the game is who is to blame. right now the house republicans are holding the old maid card but they may change that later on tonight, and the biggest blame will probably be congress overall, as their approval rating continues to plummet. jenna: i can't believe you brought out the old maid card. haven't heard about that in a longtime, the old maid card. they are holding it. by 6:00pm tonight the situation could be different. special report, 6:00pm. jon: more like a lot of jokers. republican candidates are getting in as much face time

with voters as they can before the big day. carl cameron live in davenport, iowa. i hope it's a little warmer there now than it was earlier, carl. >> reporter: i'm going to be shivering at every live shot until march. it's cold but it's not terrible. here we are two weeks away from the first caucuses, two weeks from tomorrow. newt gingrich is continuing to davenport, the southeastern corner of the hawk-eye state where the first caucuses are now just coming up e. was a wa. he was away for a few days. this is a hastily put together event which illustrates some of gingrich's problems with organization. these trying to play catch up. he may be leading in some of the polls when it comes to the ground game to get real people to the caucuses he's behind and has acknowledged it. which raises money about the money and the air war as opposed to getting people to the caucuses on the ground.

what are they putting on tv newt gingrich has a new ad by a super pack that supports him that speaks kindly of him. it's not going to get a lot of attention on the airwaves here. they are only going to spend about $25,000 to air it. mitt romney has a group running adds that just don't promote mitt romney they really attack newt gingrich. watch this contrast an outside group trying to damage newt gingrich on mitt romney's behave. and an outside group trying to promote newt gingrich a and promote his candidacy. >> why is this man smiling? because his plan is working, brutally attack mitt romney and hope newt gingrich is his opponent. why? newt has a ton of baggage. >> in uncertain times we need a leader whose leadership has been tested. newt was there for conservative values. he stood up to bill clinton.

>> reporter: gingrich has been nearly unfailing in warning his supporters or encouraging his supporters to not use negative and/or personal attacks against his rivals. in the closing days of any political campaign when you are attacked by an opponent and you don't respond in-kind, there is considerable risk there. newt gingrich is betting that the risk is worth it by staying positive he'll ultimately end up by more caucus goers in his corner than those attacking. historically in the past, more often than not those who fail to defend themselves in counter attack often end up in second or third place. jon: you're going to be busy over the next couple of weeks watching it all for us. carl cameron, thank you. jenna: fox news alert new developments in the search for a little girl missing in maine since saturday mourn. here is the back story. the father of the 20-month-old reported her missing on saturday. he said he put her to bed on friday night and she was nowhere to be found the next day. the girl's mother is speaking

out. laura ingle has more. >> reporter: the mother said she filed paperwork for full custody the day before the girl vanished and hasn't told the girl's father and didn't believe he knew about it before she went mission. she shares custody with the child's father. the two have been unable to get along and parent together in the last few weeks. and she's had no contact with him since her daughter vanished. despite the fact the parents aren't talking with each other police say they are cooperating with police. the state police canvassed the neighborhood over the weekend and today will be focusing on a nearby spring. they are zeroing on a stream that is an 8th of a mile from the father's home where the little girl was last seen. there were two other adults in the house the night that the little girl disappeared, neither were family members and both have been interviewed.

she was last seen sleeping in her bed inside her father's home in waterville, main friday night. her dad called police saturday morning to report his daughter was not in her bed and continue be found. she is described as 2 to the 9 inches tall weighing 30 pounds, blond hair. and she was last seen wearing pajamas, with daddy's princess on it. she has a soft cast on, she broke her arm a few weeks ago. if you have any information you're urged to call the number on the screen. jenna: hope they find to answers, lawyer a thank you. jon: the death of an infant in the australian out back years ago so inc infamous it became the subject of a hollywood film. now prosecutors are reopening the lynde chamberlain case, the mother who said her baby girl killed by a pack of wild dingos

or dogs. a company is using solar power to drill for oil. william la jeunesse following this one for us. >> reporter: this is the only plant like it in the world. coming up find out how one company is using thousands of these mirrors to capture the power of the sun to pump crude from california's oldest oil field. that is next. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating.

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jon: new information right now on crime stories we are

watching. lawyers for casey anthony back in an orlando courtroom. texas equa sore much is suing for. the company says she knew her daughter was deaden though they were search for the wild. they will determine whether private bradley manning will be court-martialed on espionage charges. he was accused of leaking classified documents to wikileaks. the infamous dingo took my baby murder case will be reopened for the fourth time, this after new information was given to the coroner by lawyers for lynde chamber lane. she claims her baby was snatched out of the family's tent in the australian out back by wild dogs. she was convicted of murdering the baby, that conviction later ownre turned. jenna: we'll turn to a different story now talking about a little bit of business here. one of california's largest and

oil oil fields is getting a bit of a green make over. they are harnessing the power of the sun to clean it up. william la jeunesse is in colinga, california with this story and an incredible shot behind you, william. >> reporter: jenna, california's oil production is declining, it's falling down about 25%. what is left is very hard to get out of the ground. it's like this. it's a very heavy crude, looks like this, not like this. companies like chevron have had to get creative. basically i'm 33 stories high right now on top of a huge boiler. but instead of boiling that water with core or natural gas they are using the heat of the sun. in the sky above california's oil country a shiny white spot looks suspended in thin air. >> people were looking over the fence trying to see what is going on, trying to get a glimpse of what we are doing inside. >> reporter: inside this compound the mystery is solved,

a cutting-edge science project, nearly 8,000 mirrors create a giant deem of heat focused on a single solar receiver. >> in a receiver we have water that runs up through tubes, we boil the water and make steam and we push it across the street to the oil reservoir and down the reservoir to heat up the crude oil. >> reporter: across the street is one of california's oldest oil fields. after 100 years all that is left is a super-thick subject born crude, nearly impossible to pump out without steam. >> we are placing steam at high pressure a thousand 500 feet down. through holes and pipe it enters a stand stone that is saturated with oil. moving that oil and heating it up. >> reporter: it pairs the newest technology with one of the oldest tools. for a state short on revenues but rich in sunshine. this is a demonstration

project. if it works and it appears that it is they are going to use the solar technology in places around the world where natural gas is unavailable or unaffordable. places like indonesia where you have very heavy crude. the other nice thing is there is no tax money involved in this green project. if it is taking place in california, very hard to get a new drilling permit, you can get 40% more oil by using this kind of enhanced recovery than you can without it. that also is very important for domestic energy. back to you. jenna: do you have to wear any type of special sunglasses or anything if you're around the area with all the mirrors and all that reflection, is there any sort of risk? >> reporter: good point. you can look at the mirrors below, they've got these pointed obviously not in our direction or we would fry. as a matter of fact i want to show you, mark look at this up here. when they turn one of these mirrors towards us you can see where this melted right above me is that boiler. it gets to be a thousand degrees when they put that power of all

these mirrors on these boilers. one of them, they were moving it, it's run by computer and it came past us. i've got to tell you like when you were a kid and you used the magnifying glass, boom it heated us right up. it was incredible. jenna: what an interesting story. you don't want to get too many tv people around all those mirrors. you'd never get a show. jon: a family making big sacrifices so their two terminally ill sons can live at home. guess what they are getting big help paying for that house just in time for christmas. it's a heart-warming report we have just ahead. also what impact does kim jong-il's death have on north korea's nuclear weapons program? a closer look coming up. at bank of america, we're lending and investing in communities across the country, from helping to revitalize a neighborhood in brooklyn

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korea after the death of kim jong-il was announced. u.s. defense officials confirm the test launch of two ballistic missiles, but it says the testing was likely in the works before kim jong-il's death. what message, though, does it send to the rest of the world? let's talk it with a member of the secretary of state's nuclear advisory board. he's also present of the plow chairs fund. kim jong-il's department i death is announced. apparently it happened a couple of days before the announcement and then north korea launches these missiles. does that trouble you? >> most people believe this was part of preplanned exerci exercises. right now north korea is in a

pai paranoid lockdown. they think someone will invade the country. they are at maximum alert and they want to puff themselves up to look stronger than they really are. it is important that no one on either side do an incident that might spiral out of control and trigger a war this nobody really wants. jon: it may be bad timing that the united states was seeing a bit of a that you in its relationship with north korea. >> that is exactly right. there were discussions on food aid, a package of food aid the united states would send in starving nation. we are very close to completion and it actually might be announced this monday. that is probably going to be suspended. what to look for now is after these first few days of sort of consolidation of the regime you'll probably go through several weeks where we'll see if kim jong un can actually emerge as the leader of this nation and there is no guarantee of that. there are divisions between the

north korean ruling elite, within the military. this could be a period of maximum stress on the regime and you could see the regime collapse during the next few weeks to a couple of months. if the regime survives that period then they'll merge with a consolidated consensus and be ready to once again reengage with their neighbors, reengage from the west. the united states is actually in a very strong position at this point. the president, the secretary of state have just come back from tours of the neighboring countries. we have very good relations with our allies, a good working relationship with china and russia on this issue. we are actually the ones able to drive the negotiations with north korea once this transition is completed. jon: what should the united states be doing now in your view. >> two things, make sure nobody does anything proceed srob

provocative. and there is always a chance that north korea will do something like that. it may be that his son wants to prove himself and make a military move. you want to make sure you don't overreact to that and start a conflict. let them know you're willing to continue the engagement, you're willing to do that as long as north korean is willing to talk about and take steps towards reducing their nuclear program. there were signs that north korean was about to do that, about to shut down the ooh rain yum enrichment program in part of it's nuclear program. that deal will have to be put aside then this is worked out. jon: the hope is that there is not an overreaction to something that the north does in the days ahead. >> right, and if the regime does show signs of cracking the u.s. has got to be ready to take advantage of that. we all want regime change, we want to make sure it happens in an orderly process that doesn't cause chaos in the region. jon: thank you. >> my pleasure, jon. jenna: we'll take another par a

look at the media coverage of the u.s. troop withdrawal from iraq. our news watch panel debates what per speb what perspectives we're getting on the mission and how important it is. coming up.

jon: some extreme weather on the way. a messy storm making its way across the southwest and headed east. what it could mean for your travel plans heading into the poll day. maria molina is live in the fox weather center with that. >> reporter: hi, jon. unfortunately this storm system will be producing all kinds of travel problems from the southwest into the east as would he head into the next several days. for tonight into tomorrow that is where we'll be looking at major issues with blizzard conditions possible across parts of the plain states. right now we don't have a blizzard going on just yet. ahead of the system we have heavy rains across parts of kansas, oklahoma, and the texas

panhandle. you'll see the rain switching over to snow and we're seeing the snow falling across new mexico, including the city of albuquerque, santa fe. the heaviest will fall in the overnight hours where we can see 18 inches of no from northeast new mexico up into southwestern kansas. that is the exact corridor where we will see the most impressive snowfall accumulations. wind gusts will be blowing out there 45, 50 miles per hour, producing blowing and drifting out there. it will be a major concern for any traveling. traveling is not recommended. there are a number of blizzard warnings issued all along the area. generally speaking we will be looking at total accumulations across the area aside from that corridor, 6 to 12 inches, very impressive stuff out here. 3:00 park m monday into tuesday we're extenting that storm system to strengthen and produce a lot of heavy no from colorado into parts of kansas and even the texas panhandle. by late tuesday most of the snow really wiping down, a little bit of pink from freezing rain across parts of the midwest, that is also going to be

producing some problems with traveling, otherwise just rain across areas further off to the east over here as we head into wednesday and also thursday. we'll be seeing some of that rain across the northeast. another component of the storm system is severe weather. we will be looking at very strong storms across eastern texas later on this afternoon and even, and we can't rule out isolated tornadoes with some of those thunderstorms. jon: break out the boots it looks like in parts of the country. maria thank you. jenna: the obama administration is closely monitoring the situation on the korean peninsula following the death of kim jong-il. wendell goler is live at the white house with any reaction we're getting so far. >> reporter: the president was briefed by his chief of staff late last notice on the death of kim jong-il which actually occurred more than 24 hours ago -- almost two days ago, on saturday, the north korean as

kept it se secret. president obama called the south korean president to see how the two countries should respond. they said we are in close touch with our allies in south korea and japan. we remain committed to stability on the korean peninsula and to the security of our allies. the south korean million tier rewas put on alert. the u.s. was not. we have troops on the most rev virginia leborder. no indication yet that the president has phoned japan's prime minister or chinese president. the reaction from north korean as has been emotional. news readers crying on television, people weeping in the street.

the so-called deer leader was an almost mythical figure. his successor kim jong un is the son of his third wife. in his late 20s he is unskilled and untested. it was thought that kim jong-il sister, and husband and a trusted general will be the real authority. there had been plans for resumption of food aid to north koreanorth korea. both of those things are on old until we figure out who is in charge in north korea and whether kim jong un has enough power to make concessions to the west. jenna: a good reminder, that we have about 30,000 troops right on the border of north and south korea we'll pay close attention to that. thank you so much. jon: we have a lot of troops there on the south korean, north korean border but all u.s.

troops are now out of iraq. the final convoy crossed the border into kuwait, that made headlines in america late saturday night. devisiveness of the nearly nine year war and the uncertainty that lies ahead for the iraqi people has been spoken of. has the coverage been fair? we have alan foams. alalan colmes, and richard lowry. there eye pierce to be a lot of hand wringing. >> we left with a whimper not with a bang there. was no shock and awe at the end and there was no president landing in a tom cruise type flight suit with a mission accomplished sign that was manufactured in the white house. it was a very different set of circumstances, and imagery than we had when right after the beginning of the so-called shock and awe we saw what president

bush did. this is a gradual scale down of the war. we are out of there because we could not get the immunity for our troops. this was the bush timeline. we continue stay even if president obama wanted us to. we continue get immunity to protect our forces from possible legal action. jon: rich, focusing on the coverage, again the media seemed to be stressing the uncertainties that lie ahead, and the constant arguments that this war created. >> jon, i think that is appropriate. obviously it was a devisive war and i think the hand wringing unfortunately is appropriate. we are going to have an argument over this war whether it was misconceived from the beginning or thrown away at the end of the i tend to agree with the latter. i really fear the consequences of what we're going to see in iraq. our continued presence there, even at a much reduced level was

really a steel rod through the back of the iraqi political system. you already see the iraqi government potentially falling apartment you could see a return of sectarian violence much sooner than anyone expected. i think this is the obama administration for political reasons wanting to get out no matter what. if they wanted to renew that deal wit with the iraqis and were really desperate to do it the president and the vice president could have worked at it real hard. they didn't. joe biden said last week that even if the rerack keys asked us to sen to keep 20,000 troops there they wouldn't have i don't. >> we couldn't stay there. our troops wouldn't get immunity. this is the bush timeline. jon: i want alan to look at glass half full scenario for just a moment. alan nine years ago you had a dictator who was putting his own people through meat grinders, literally. was gassing his own people.

had attacked every one of his neighbors. >> 1988 during the reagan administration, obviously he was a horrible, terrible, abusive human being, but we could look all around the world and find a number of circumstances where that is the case. he was also our insurance policy against iran. the minute we start deciding we are going to go and go into sovereign nations and remove dictators that changes our foreign policy. this had nothing to do with 9/11 tkwret w9/11 yet we used 9/11 as an excuse to do what we call a preemptive war. we should never have done it. we lost thousands of american lives. we ruined tens of thousands of others. it's obvious the minute we leave there is going to be sectarian violence. >> that's why, alan it was very important not to leave in a rush. >> then we could never leave. >> president obama could have worked this he didn't. >> i disagree. >> joe biden could have worked if he didn't. they pride themes on their smart

diplomacy. even "the new york times" said that the political sreurs are delighted over the political effects of getting the troops home for christmas. i can see the political case for that. but the strategic case for it is not there whatsoever. jon: we are going to let you two guys argue this out during the commercial break. thanks so much rich lou row and alan colmes. join us for news watching at a fair & balanced look. i'll be joining some of our panelists every saturday 2:30 eastern time on faction. jenna: you have a fix-day a week work week. it doesn't really workout that way. you can see him six days a week. more jon scott is better than less. on the job hunt, how you can make money right now from the comfort of your own home if you're one of the millions of americans out of work. this is the story you must see. it's great ahead.

megyn: could healthcare reform be getting more complicated. the president has decided to let each state tackle portions of it. how will that work. new polls suggest the president has a tough road to re-election. we'll talk to david axelrod and bring us the exclusive interview. also we'll have jon huntsman live on the show to ask him about his surge in new hampshire, all that when i see you on "america live" in 16 minutes. jon: we are looking at this -- jenna: suspicious package. jon: suspicious package in front of the israeli embassy in los angeles. pardon me. i lost my train of thought for a moment. this story breaking out of l.a. they have called in the bomb squad obviously. they are going to be taking a look at this thing to figure out what it might be. most likely they'll give it an

explosive charge and blow it apart. we'll keep our eye on it and let you know what transpires. this courtesy of our friends at kttv who are bringing us these helicopter shots. jenna: fox news is on the job hunt for you. if you have a computer and a phone and you need to check out some -- what is called a rise virtual solutions. they are hiring and you don't even have to leave home to go to work. that is something that phil keating hasn't figured out right now because he joins us from our miami bureau when he has to talk to us from. you want to tell us a little bit about this. >> reporter: can we do it outside? there is a high of 75 unlike the 25 yesterday in manhattan. these companies, there are a growing number of them in the u.s. it's a growth area in the u.s. economy. they've hired tens of thousands of people just for the holidays. a lot of the workers love the work. they are hoping to turn them

into careers. >> thanks for calling personal shopper. my name is tiffany. how may i assist you today. >> reporter: 25-year-old tiffany don't work in brick and mortar offices but at home in what the industry terms virtual car centers. depending on what call they take, that then determines which company's website they go to and then they resolve that issue. in essence every day they are actually representing several major companies who are outsourcing this work. alpine access out in denver another one of these companies. throughout what is an eight hour day homeworkers have the comfort of home, can walk the dog, go in the kitchen and pour some coffee, and get back to work eliminating commuting and reducing traffic on the roads. >> you can't goof off, it's still a professional job, you have to meet the criteria and do everything that is expected of you. >> reporter: these companies replaced the lee shay of overseas workers, and as we all know that experience can be,

hello my name is peggy, a big headache. she's u.s. companies monitor all their virtual workers and phone traffic in realtime providing better customer service. >> we believe that virtual work is the future not only in the number of people interested in doing this work, but also the number of companies who are using this as the way to do business in the future. >> reporter: industry analysts say the use of oversees workers for call centers remains stable, that is not on the decline, however using workers in india and pakistan is. hot spots right now for that kind of work, the philippines and poland and elsewhere in kwroefrplt the best part of the jo europe. the best part of the job, you don't need to dress for the job, you can wear your pajamas. jenna: just rubbing it. 75 degrees in miami. miami bureau isn't real work, is it jon?

jon: you know i lived there for 14 years and i never quite got used to miami in december. jenna: looks like phil is plenty used to it now. it is a great tip for those who want work and maybe can do it on the beach as well. 75 degrees. >> reporter: you can. jon: i want to hear his phone voice again. jenna: it was very good. >> reporter: thank you. jon: your headaches you can't seem to shake that cough, you haven't got even sick yet this season have you? jenna: i haven't. i think it's coming. jon: before you blame the weather you might want to consider your christmas tree. what doctors say is behind this. and one tip that could make you and your family feel a whole lot better. interesting stuff. if you have high blood pressure, like me,

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jenna: you say your sinus are

killing you, you are coughing, wheezing. you have a winter cold. you blame the december chill. get this. your christmas tree might be making you sick. dr. manny alvarez, a fox new medical a-teamer. this does not sound like christmas. >> christmas tree syndromes. is he kidding? i wish i was kid. kidding. this is when you're very allergic to the molds found in the christmas free. this was in the journal of allergy. they did a study and found that a lot of the trees, they have a lot of mold, you bring them inside your house, and if you're very allergic to hold and that kind of ale allergans you can

get sick. jenna: it's mold. >> and in the bark of the tree. they sit out there, it's humid. the same kind of thing that you'd argue people are allergic in the winter when they go into a forest. there are a lot of spores and fungi that are found. jenna: people can get really sick from mold. is there lasting effect from it? >> some of them. if you have a lot of allergies it's going to make it worse. if you do buy a tree you can tell whatever store you're buying it from that they could wash it down, a lot of them do. jenna: spray it off. >> otherwise take it home, hose it down, let it air dry. you can bring it back in. i'm giving you solutions, you can still have your tree. and also don't let the tree stand for many, many days. a lot of people say, i'll take it out by january 15th, whatever the case may be. stick to the 12 days of christmas and then throw it out. as they dry out with the heat of the apartment or house it really

ferments a lot of these things and it can make things worse for you. jenna: if you have an elderly person in your home or a child with asthma should you avoid. >> i wouldn't go that -- i'm going to get a lot of hate mail now. jenna: i had to ask the question. >> if you're really, really very sick, you know you already have a lot of allergies, yes that might be a problem. you can buy an art fist altree, there is nothing wrong with that, as long as it's not the artificial tree you have for five or ten years that is up in your attic. that has a dust and that could be a problem. jenna: do you have a real tree in your house. >> of course i have a tree. jenna: do you decorate it or your wife. >> they spend time doing it, they don't want me to touch it. that's okay i will be holding my glass of wine as i do it. jenna: there is always a wine reference. >> it's the holidays, people. jenna: it's the holiday season. >> merry christmas. jenna: christmas tree syndrome, watch out for it but hopefully

you can enjoy your tree. manny alvarez thank you. >> absolutely. jenna: we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] tom's discovering that living healthy can be fun.

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travelers. jenna: right now a heartwarming story for the season toned on, a family winning a contest giving them their mortgage payment for a year, and wait until you hear why. patti ann. >> reporter: jenna, this florida family has been through a whole lot and are getting a big christmas gift, debbie and scott gout's son christopher died in 2007, he was just four years old, he had mitochondrial disease a. fatal rare illness and their son matthew, eight, suffers from the same genetic disorder, scott works at a restaurant but debie quit her job to care for the boys and the medical bills have poupt dollars, they cashed out the 401k, took out a home equity loan and weren't making it and faced the prospect of losing their home in fallujah county, so they entered a contest and won! a nonprofit found nation minnesota, gradient gives back will pick all year's worth of their mortgage and

provide a lifetime of free financial counseling. >> our luck usually don't go very well, we've had a lot of trying times but it can't hurt to fill it out. >> the foundation was started by gradient financial services. it's in its third year of helping distressed families. jenna: it sounds about right that, they deserve a little luck right now. >> for sure. jenna: good to hear that, this time of year. patti ann, thank you very much. now this fox news alert. jon: we told you about that alert in los angeles, the milshire area of downtown, a suspicious package outside the israeli diplomatic post, actually the israeli consulate, we're told. it has been given the all-clear. whatever it is turned out not to be dangerous. the package, left there about 8:30 pacific time, turns out to be nothing. so it's an all-clear outside the israeli consulate in l.a.